Law Kar Ying reveals monthly medical bill of over $1,600 after cancer relapse

Law Kar Ying has revealed he remains active in showbiz because of his medical bills.

The 80-year-old Hong Kong veteran actor attended an event yesterday (Oct 7), where he was asked by reporters if he continues to work despite being semi-retired to provide for his wife Liza Wang.

He quipped that he not only has to provide for the 79-year-old singer-actress, but he also has to earn more to pay for his medical expenses.

Kar Ying said: "Seeing a doctor is actually very expensive. It costs me more than HK$10,000 (S$1,630) per month."

"If you have more savings when you're old, you can have more people to take care of you. Otherwise, you would be very miserable," he added.

Kar Ying was diagnosed with stage three liver cancer in 2004 and underwent surgery in 2005. In 2013, he was found to have a two-centimetre tumour in his liver and went for surgery again.

He underwent surgery in 2019 after finding cancerous cells in his prostate.

In May 2025, he revealed in an interview that he had been diagnosed with cancer for the fourth time and was told that if he undergoes treatment with injections and medication, he would have about eight years left.

He added then that he is not afraid of death and would not be going for chemotherapy or electrotherapy.

Kar Ying also told media in his latest interview that he wanted to fully retire and enjoy life but found it difficult to turn down offers because of personal relationships, so he continues to work.

Kar Ying was a Cantonese opera singer in the 1970s before turning to act in movies. He is best known for playing monk Tang Sanzang in the A Chinese Odyssey movies (1995).

In recent years, he continues to perform opera, including a collaboration with the Hong Kong Cantonese Opera Artists Club to perform at the Kreta Ayer People's Theatre in Singapore in 2023.

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yeo.shuhui@asiaone.com

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